Sunday’s 16-inning marathon victory by the Nationals over the Minnesota Twins is already being memorialized as one of the most epic and topsy-turvy games in Nats history, so it’s understandable that the game overshadowed what was also an epic and historic day in the pantheon of presidents races.

It was the annual “Kids Opening Day,” in which the team celebrates mascot Screech’s birthday, and other area mascots often show up to join in the fun.

In the fourth inning race, Thomas Jefferson emerged first and jumped out to a huge lead, but was met in the right field corner by a relentless onslaught of mascots, who jumped and pummeled him, with Navy mascot Bill the Goat repeatedly kicking the founding father on the ground.

When the other five presidents rounded the corner, the mascots got up and slammed into them all, then turned around and went back after Jefferson, who was body-slammed by Slapshot as he tried to get up.

Presidents race history was then made when Screech, who usually calls the winner from the finish line, took off and raced for the belt himself, marking only the third time a non-president has taken the tape*.

When the game went into the thirteenth inning, it was Jefferson’s chance for redemption. Wearing their traditional “Sunday best” uniforms for the first time this season, Jefferson ran away with the extra-innings win.

The Nationals racing presidents have produced a lot of unusual antics over the years, but Sunday’s fourth inning race brought something Nats fans had never seen: mascot Screech the Eagle crossing the finishing line to take the victory just ahead of “Honest” Abe Lincoln.

The victory capped an afternoon-long celebration of Screech’s birthday, with mascots from other mid-Atlantic sports teams on hand to help celebrate.

In previous years, those visiting mascots had interfered with the race, but this year it was Screech’s turn in the spotlight, teaming with Teddy Roosevelt and William Howard Taft against Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln as the visiting mascots cheered from the finish line.

The Nationals racing presidents entered the penultimate regular season race of 2014 on Saturday with four-time champion Abraham Lincoln on a tear.

Lincoln, the all-time winningest racing president, had been dominated most of the season by Teddy Roosevelt, the perennial loser who came into the season with an all-time regular season record of 12-595 (yes, that’s twelve wins against nearly 600 losses).

But after clawing and cheating his way to victory in eight of eleven races in September, the Great Emancipator entered Saturday having tied the Rough Rider atop the presidents race standings.

So it was a surprise to most in the stands when “Honest” Abe failed to show up for Saturday’s race.

When the tightly-fought contest ended in a photo finish between Teddy Roosevelt and George Washington, race judge Screech the Eagle called for a replay review.

That’s when Lincoln appeared from the sidelines wearing a headset, having been appointed replay official by Screech.

After a delay in which the replay was shown on the Nationals Park scoreboard, Lincoln called the race for Washington, setting up a final showdown with Teddy in Sunday’s season finale.

Here’s the race as called in the stadium by PA Announcer Jerome Hruska, followed by our finish line video:

The Nats brought the best record in baseball home to DC as they kicked off the season’s penultimate home stand with a doubleheader vs. the Dodgers Tuesday at Nationals Park.

Nationals mascots Teddy Roosevelt and Screech the Eagle aren’t allowed to talk on duty, but that didn’t prevent them from celebrating NationalTalk Like a Pirate Day during the fourth inning presidents race.

Teddy Roosevelt came out for the nightcap race sporting a pirate’s bandana and a hook for a right hand.

Wednesday night’s presidents race at Nationals Park may have been the closest in racing president history, with George Washington and Thomas Jefferson hitting the finish line at precisely the same time.

With NASCAR champion Austin Dillon on hand to wave the checkered flag Wednesday, race judge Screech was unusually liberated to focus on making the correct call.

Yet many on hand, including the MASN play-by-play team of Bob Carpenter and F.P. Santangelo, felt that George Washington was robbed when Screech awarded the ‘W’ to Thomas Jefferson.

George reached out and grabbed the tape as he fell forward across the finish line, but even the slo-mo replay below is inconclusive as to whether Jefferson had already touched the tape.

Between innings Thursday at Nationals Park, the Washington Nationals welcomed a new mid-game distraction. Popping up along the third base line was “Air Screech,” an inflated, dancing, oversize costumed version of the Nationals official mascot.

The video speaks for itself, but just in case you were at a loss for words, Dan Steinberg at the Post has compiled some of the Tweets that appeared almost instantly.